No matter how careful you may be, or at least think you’re being, you can all too easily pick up a sexually transmitted infection (STI) when making physical contact with another human being. Even if you don’t engage in sexual activity, an innocent action such as a hug or handshake could be enough to pass on an STI which, in many cases, is only detected long afterwards.
Every single year in America, 20 million new STI cases are reported, half of which occur in young people aged between 15 and 24. Chlamydia is the most common of these, with one out of every 208 Americans affected by the condition. Not only is the ease with which you can pick up an STI quite frightening, so is the ease with which you could unwittingly pass it on to someone else.
That’s why the importance of STI screening cannot be understated. As stated above, you can be infected or transmit an infection through mere skin-to-skin contact, but there are scenarios where the likelihood of contracting an STI is increased. If you have recently started a new sexual relationship, had unprotected sex, have had multiple previous sexual partners or have shared injecting equipment, you should book STI screening immediately. The same goes if you have any suspicion that you could have picked up an infection.
The STI screening process is not painful, even though some stages can sound intimidating. Still, any minus points pale in comparison with the relief of being cleared of STI worries. If the test is positive, of course that’s not good news, but at least knowing will give you the chance to take remedial action before the infection becomes irreparably serious.
Take a look at the infographic below from Union Quay Medical Centre for more pointers on why urgent STI screening could save you from serious health complications later in life.
Infographic is showing details of The Significance of STI Screening.